It has been known since last fall that slain civil rights hero Harvey Milk was going to be honored with a US postage stamp.

What was not known until this week was what it would look like.

The stamp is to be issued on 22 May – Harvey Milk Day – and will feature a black and white photo of the late San Francisco Supervisor who will be the first openly gay elected public official to be featured on a stamp.

It also features the colors of the gay rainbow flag up in the upper left corner, according to an image obtained by Linns Stamp News.

Both San Francisco and Washington DC are being considered as possible cities for the stamp to make its debut.

It will be what is known as a ‘Forever Stamp’ which means that even if postage fees go up, the stamp will still be valid and no additional postage will be needed.

Milk was a Navy veteran, businessman and community activist when he was elected to the San Francisco board of supervisors in 1977 – the first openly gay person to be elected to public office in California.

He was shot and killed, along with San Francisco mayor George Moscone, on Nov. 27, 1978 by their former colleague on the board, Dan White.

Milk was only in office for 11 months but was responsible for passing a stringent gay rights ordinance for the city.

His story was told in the 2008 film Milk which won Academy Awards for Sean Penn (best actor) and screenwriter Dustin Lance Black.